How to Split an Iris

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How to Split an Iris

Before splitting an iris you want to make sure your irises are actually done blooming. Find out how to split an iris with help from an avid home gardener and garden teacher in this free video clip.

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Hello, my name is Jessica Craven. I'm a Master Gardener and I have my certification in Permaculture Design. We're going to talk about how to split irises. The most important thing you want to do is to make certain that your irises are done blooming. After they're done blooming, what you like to do is go ahead and dig up your irises. And again, irises grow very close to the top of the soil. So, as you dig them up, you're going to have a fairly large clump. And as you can see here, I'm going to start breaking them off by the different rhizomes. And you'll see here where the individual fingers are and you can break this up, as I've done here into smaller pieces. You want to have, go ahead and cut the green material off; you can then either plant your irises again. A great time to plant them is in cooler weather such as fall or early winter. So, if it's not the right time of the year and you want to wait to plant your irises, or you'd like to share them with somebody else, what you want to do is basically knock as much of the dirt off as you can. You don't have to clean them with water, but you want to knock that dirt off and go ahead and then store them in a fairly cool place in a paper bag. When it's time to plant your new, your new irises that you've split, you do want to plant them fairly close to the surface. You can even just put them on the soil and then cover them up with about two to six or even eight inches of mulch, which is basically wood chips. As the spring comes and the irises begin to water, they'll go ahead and began their growth and you'll then have irises all throughout your yard or you'll have had the opportunity to share your irises with your friends and family. My name is Jessica Craven, and this segment was about how to split your irises.

About the Author

Jessica Craven has extensive experience working with school gardens, horticultural therapy gardens (for physically and developmentally disabled adults), as well as serving as a garden teacher. Craven is also an avid home gardener, environmental home and garden practitioner, and she practices permaculture (design with nature - about earth care, people care, and sharing the yield!).